London historic shopping parade to reopen after revamp

Sicilian Avenue is a Grade II listed pedestrian passageway in Holborn that has just undergone a complete facelift.

Running between Southampton Row and Bloomsbury Way and made from Italian marble with colonnades, turrets, and Ionic columns carrying the street name in gold, it was completed in 1910 as apartments and shops.

The street was completed in 1910 and made with Italian marble and columns with the name spelled out in gold. (Image: Tristan Capital Partners) Over the years it has been used as a filming location for the likes of Wonder Woman, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and Slow Horses, and has links to major figures from Mahatma Gandhi to Virginia Woolf.

Developers Tristan Capital Partners bought the Holborn Links Estate, which includes Sicilian Avenue, for £245m five years ago. They hope it will become the social heart of the newly branded ‘Bloomsbury Quarter’.

Twelve food and drink spaces, from kiosk-sized outlets to restaurants now available to lease with the first six venues scheduled to open this summer.

The street has been a location for filming including Slow Horses and Wonder Woman. (Image: Tristan Capital Partners) Sicilian Avenue will also be a shopping destination as part of a larger scheme which includes 70,000 sqft of office space above the commercial units.

Alex Melligan, Director, Portfolio & Asset Management, Tristan Capital, said it would be a perfect location for office workers, university students, and tourists visiting the nearby British Museum.

He added: “We know from our research that London’s residents, visitors and workers overwhelmingly prefer pedestrianised settings for dining and socialising.

“Sicilian Avenue is not only of historical and cultural significance as one of London’s first pedestrianised streets, it can immediately satiate Holborn’s demand for high quality food and beverage experiences within its serene environment.”

Alexander Jan, chair of the Central District Alliance business improvement district, said: “The return to business of Sicilian Avenue is a hugely welcome development for Bloomsbury and Holborn’s workers, visitors and of course residents.

“Its reopening will add further momentum to the post-Covid recovery and is a major vote of confidence for this part of central London.”